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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004949">Help From the Shadows</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnyxIsNotOverdramatic/pseuds/OnyxIsNotOverdramatic'>OnyxIsNotOverdramatic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Other, Sad Anxiety, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, anxiety is like 9, deceit is like a teen older brother, i cant think rn lol, mentions of remus, tell me if there's more, uhh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:29:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004949</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnyxIsNotOverdramatic/pseuds/OnyxIsNotOverdramatic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anxiety visits Deceit's room at night. Deceit comforts him. Or something.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Help From the Shadows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>im tired lol. dont question me</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Anxiety rocked anxiously on his feet, staring at Deceit’s door. </span>
  <span>He took a deep breath, raising a shaky fist to knock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pathetic, you can’t do anything right, you’re a burden, they all hate you-’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He put his fist down quickly, his shaking increasing. This was a bad idea, why did he even think it was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea, they all hate him, nononono- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His spiraling thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open by a ruffly, sleepy-looking Deceit in worn pajamas. Deceit looked down at the slightly shorter side, with concern masked by tired frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re lying, ssstop it,” he slurred, rubbing his eyes with an ungloved hand. Anxiety jumped, his arms shooting up, flailing. His breath picked up a bit, staring up at Deceit in shock. Deceit raised an eyebrow at Anxiety, asking, “..What’ss up? It’ss passt midnight, bro. Can’t sssleep again?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anxiety nodded shyly, looking down at his feet as he fiddled with the hem of his sleeves, picking at the seams with his jagged nails. Deceit sighed, running a hand through his hair, mussing it up. He looked at Anxiety appraisingly, before stepping back into his room, holding the door open before turning and going into the room. Anxiety following slowly, looking around warily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused a few feet into the room, peering into the darkness. There was a dim glow, pulsing faintly, as well as flecks of light gleaming at Anxiety from the darkness, reminding him of the eyes of predators, stalking prey.. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His chest tightened and he quickly hurried after the steadily moving Deceit, his heart pounding in his chest, the noise resounding in his ears. As he went into the other’s room, he saw that the lights were just honey yellow fairy lights, strung up around the room, softly illuminating the surroundings. Anxiety couldn’t focus though, his heart still thudding, his breathing picked up, his vision blurring and he couldn’t tell why until it cleared, a warm liquid running down his face and he realized they were tears. He scrubbed at his eyes with the edge of his sleeves, trying to hide the fact he was crying before Deceit noticed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuuuu-frick, are-are.. You crying?” Anxiety’s heart sank in his chest. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mission failed, we’ll get ‘em next time.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He hastily stuttered, “N-No, I-I’m.. fine, d-don’t worry..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deceit looked at Anxiety disbelievingly, his eyebrows raised. “I can tell when you're lying, you know. I may be an idiot but at least I’m not dumb.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anxiety blinked confused, before dismissing it, instead petulantly shaking his head. “Y-You’re not dumb..!! An-and I’m s-sorry, uh, f-for lying..? But, um.. P-please don’t worry about it..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deceit frowned slightly, concern blooming in his heterochromatic eyes but he smirked after a hot second. “No promises.” Anxiety squeaked, his hands shaking as they moved in front of him nervously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deceit hastily said, “Fine, fine, I’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> not to worry about it, ok?” Anxiety hesitantly nodded, smiling in relief. Deceit huffed, grinning slightly. He covered it with a yawn, putting his hands in the air exaggeratedly. “Wow, huh, I’m really tired all of a sudden. Why don’t we get some shuteye, eh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anxiety happily nodded, yawning soon after Deceit. Deceit chuckled, hopping onto a bean bag, leaning over and grabbing a pillow from a pile. He gestured to a pile of plush yet worn blankets in the corner, about 15 feet away from Deceit. “Feel free to use my bed, I have plenty of pillows and blankets if you need them. Wake me up if you need anything, ‘kay kid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anxiety nodded, now sleepy. He tiredly hobbled over to the pile in the corner, overwhelmed as his sleepiness caught up to him. He sank into the blankets, curling into them. He sighed happily. He felt more comfortable then he had in a while. This was a lot better than his room, freezing and making his items wear down more quickly, making them fragile and worn. He quickly fell asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deceit watched as the younger of the two fell asleep. He was concerned for the other. It was clear from the bags under Anxiety’s eyes that he was not all right. Deceit recalled hearing footsteps in the hallways during the nights, but he just attributed that to Remus. But.. what if it wasn’t..? Deceit eyed Anxiety worriedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why did he come to his room tonight? He could feel the shroud of lies that cloaked him trailing after him, so heavy that he was able to sense it from halfway down the hallway. He didn’t know what Anxiety was telling himself, but based on his job as well as his behavior not only tonight but also countless other times, it wasn’t anything good. But what could he do to help the poor kid..? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Be there for him. That’s all he really could do. The kid was like a sibling to him. He wasn’t the best at expressing it, but Deceit did care for the other dark sides, even if they were idiots sometimes. He took care of them. They had to stick out for each other, protect each other, because… who else would? The light sides? The thought made him laugh. Not a chance. They definitely wouldn’t help Deceit. They hated him the most, except for maybe Remus. Well.. just after Remus and Creativity split, at least. Now they didn’t even remember him, not really. He’d reveal the Duke’s existence again later. For now? Ignorance is bliss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He yawned quietly, covering his mouth. He knew he should sleep, but.. He stared at his hands, trying to ignore the unease tugging at the edge of his mind. He was worried about Anxiety, and scared for him. He didn’t know what was going on with him, but Deceit would do his best to help in any way that he could. In the shadows, discreet, he’d help, and if anyone tried to harm him he’d strike. No one would hurt his little brother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that thought in mind, he slumped further into the beanbag and fell into a restless slumber.</span>
</p>
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